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Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect

The law of angular momentum conservation is naturally linked to the rotational symmetry of the involved system. Here we demonstrate theoretically how to break the rotational symmetry of a uniaxial crystal via the electro-optic Pockels effect. By numerical method based on asymptotic expansion, we dis...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lu, Xiancong, Wu, Ziwen, Zhang, Wuhong, Chen, Lixiang
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4007095/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24784778
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep04865
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author Lu, Xiancong
Wu, Ziwen
Zhang, Wuhong
Chen, Lixiang
author_facet Lu, Xiancong
Wu, Ziwen
Zhang, Wuhong
Chen, Lixiang
author_sort Lu, Xiancong
collection PubMed
description The law of angular momentum conservation is naturally linked to the rotational symmetry of the involved system. Here we demonstrate theoretically how to break the rotational symmetry of a uniaxial crystal via the electro-optic Pockels effect. By numerical method based on asymptotic expansion, we discover the 3D structure of polarization singularities in terms of C lines and L surfaces embedded in the emerging light. We visualize the controllable dynamics evolution of polarization singularities when undergoing the Pockels effect, which behaves just like the binary fission of a prokaryotic cell, i.e., the splitting of C points and fission of L lines are animated in analogy with the cleavage of nucleus and division of cytoplasm. We reveal the connection of polarization singularity dynamics with the accompanying generation of orbital angular momentum sidebands. It is unexpected that although the total angular momentum of light is not conserved, the total topological index of C points is conserved.
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spelling pubmed-40070952014-05-05 Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect Lu, Xiancong Wu, Ziwen Zhang, Wuhong Chen, Lixiang Sci Rep Article The law of angular momentum conservation is naturally linked to the rotational symmetry of the involved system. Here we demonstrate theoretically how to break the rotational symmetry of a uniaxial crystal via the electro-optic Pockels effect. By numerical method based on asymptotic expansion, we discover the 3D structure of polarization singularities in terms of C lines and L surfaces embedded in the emerging light. We visualize the controllable dynamics evolution of polarization singularities when undergoing the Pockels effect, which behaves just like the binary fission of a prokaryotic cell, i.e., the splitting of C points and fission of L lines are animated in analogy with the cleavage of nucleus and division of cytoplasm. We reveal the connection of polarization singularity dynamics with the accompanying generation of orbital angular momentum sidebands. It is unexpected that although the total angular momentum of light is not conserved, the total topological index of C points is conserved. Nature Publishing Group 2014-05-02 /pmc/articles/PMC4007095/ /pubmed/24784778 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep04865 Text en Copyright © 2014, Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The images in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the image credit; if the image is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder in order to reproduce the image. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
spellingShingle Article
Lu, Xiancong
Wu, Ziwen
Zhang, Wuhong
Chen, Lixiang
Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title_full Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title_fullStr Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title_full_unstemmed Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title_short Polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the Pockels effect
title_sort polarization singularities and orbital angular momentum sidebands from rotational symmetry broken by the pockels effect
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4007095/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24784778
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep04865
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